Education Commons^™

Remote Working And Online Education Among Neurodiverse Individuals, Kendall Smith

Emerging Writers

Many jobs and schools closed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and a vast majority of students and employees found it difficult to resume their education and careers online; however, those on the neurodiverse spectrum found it much harder. Upon first glance, it was easy to see how frustrating and stressful online schooling was for special needs students. Many had difficulty concentrating during virtual lectures or lacked motivation to stay on task. Likewise, many neurodiverse employees found that at-home distractions were far worse than in-office ones, and the loneliness from staying home all day was jarring. But after pulling research …

The Acceptance And Use Of Online Learning By Law Students In A South African University: An Application Of The Utaut2 Model, Jameson Goto, Anzanilufuno Munyai

The African Journal of Information Systems

COVID-19 forced many universities to shift from traditional face-to-face or blended learning, to full online learning. The sudden shift was not easy for both students and lecturers, who had to adapt to the new learning mode. This study aimed to evaluate the acceptance and use of online learning of university students in the law faculty at a South African university during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study employs the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) model particularised to the online learning context in a country with a developing economy. An online survey was administered to the student …

An Interview With Alice Ensley: District Literacy Coordinator At Dalton County Schools, Shannon Tovey

Georgia Journal of Literacy

Alice Easley was identified as a top curriculum leader in Georgia for her exceptional work in her role as Curriculum Specialist for Literacy and Social Studies at Dalton Public Schools in creating digital content and methods during the Covid-19 period.

Addressing Student Engagement During Covid-19: Secondary Stem Teachers Attend To The Affective Dimension Of Learner Needs, Tiffany Roman, Laurie Brantley-Dias, Michael Dias, Belinda Edwards

Faculty and Research Publications

This case study examines how a cohort of eleven induction secondary STEM teachers engaged learners during the onset of COVID-19 and their designs for student engagement given an online or blended teaching context in fall 2020. Participants attended a summer professional development workshop guided by trauma-informed teaching practices and learner engagement conceptual frameworks. Through the analysis of teacher artifacts and interviews, we identified dimensions of student engagement that teachers prioritized. Results indicate a marked increase in teachers’ attention to affective and social dimensions of learner engagement. We argue that teacher awareness and action in the affective domain of student engagement …

Factors That Influence The Acceptance And Use Of Formative Feedback In An Online Undergraduate Module, Jameson Goto, Jacqueline Batchelor, Geoffrey Lautenbach

The African Journal of Information Systems

The focus of the study was to determine the factors that influence the acceptance and use of online feedback in an undergraduate module using the modified unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2). The participants were third-year pre-service teachers in the Bachelor of Education degree who were taking a fully online Teaching Studies module, in addition to their specialist subject areas at one of the universities in South Africa. A survey instrument was developed from the original UTAUT2 instrument and modified where appropriate, to fit the formative feedback context. Exploratory factor analysis was used to validate the instrument. …

Hello, Are You There? Creating And Measuring Online Student Engagement, Kirsten Passyn

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Engaging students in an online environment is frustrating for faculty and a concern of administration. Faculty and students report lower levels of satisfaction and lower engagement in online versus face to face learning. Dropout rates in fully online courses are often two times higher than face to face courses. This research attempted to engage online students by embedding a gamification-based scavenger hunt in an online course. Engagement was measured using a combination of quantitative and qualitative measurements. Although the scavenger hunt didn't significantly engage low performing students, it did motivate and deepen top-performing students' engagement. Interestingly, qualitative-based engagement measures proved …

Facilitating Authentic Learning Experiences In Distance Education: Embedding Research-Based Practices Into An Online Peer Feedback Tool, Tiffany Roman, Matthew Callison, Rodney D. Myers, Anne H. Berry

Faculty and Research Publications

Authentic learning in online education is feasible with intentional instructional strategies and appropriate educational technologies, yet as a learning approach, barriers to implementation still exist. We argue that authentic learning in online education can be successfully supported when the characteristics of authentic learning are (a) intentionally applied and (b) supported through research-based tools that facilitate the learning process seamlessly for students. To address this challenge, we developed a research-based online application that supports authentic learning. In this article, the theoretical foundations and empirical support for the tool are described, along with critical design decisions that support suggested characteristics of authentic …

Librarian At The Colloquium: Delivering Unique Library Content For Phd Students, Susan Franzen

Transforming Libraries for Graduate Students

PhD students have unique needs and require different resources and services from the library than undergraduates, which is especially true of professionals in a nursing program. As clinicians, many do not have experience with the research and writing intensive requirements of a doctoral degree. The majority have not taken classes for years, and their master’s degrees were more hands-on, clinically-based. They often do not feel confident in their ability to search the literature, read closely, or write expansively. A unique avenue through which to meet their needs and share library resources is a PhD colloquium course.

Students take the colloquium …

One Workshop, Many Locations: Meeting The Needs Of Both On-Campus And Distance Students, Lisa Becksford

Transforming Libraries for Graduate Students

The diverse needs of graduate students can be difficult to gauge, and even when their needs are known, it can be difficult to develop programming that meets the needs of graduate students across disciplines and program levels. In spring 2018, a needs assessment survey was conducted by the graduate librarian at a large, comprehensive public university with graduate students at multiple campus locations. Based on respondents’ articulated needs for additional help in data management, research skills, scholarly publishing, and citation management, a workshop series, Research Tools for Graduate Students, was launched in fall 2019. The series sought to provide graduate …

Curating Engaging Content: Student Perceptions Of Content Delivery Methods In A Hybrid Course, Heather Kirkwood, Thomas Tanner, Ashutosh Dixit

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Using An Artificial Real-Time Response Audience In Online Sales Education To Improve Self-Efficacy In Sales Presentations: An Online Classroom Innovation, Nicole A. Flink, Desiree Cooper-Larsen

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Sales education research recently has turned its attention to using artificial intelligence (AI) technology, but much remains in our understanding of its use in the online and virtual sales education environment. AI can be useful to helping online students improve their sales presentations and vocal delivery skills. Examined through the lens of control value theory, this study is a pilot investigation into the effectiveness of using AI technology in the online classroom to help sales education students improve their vocal delivery skills in sales presentations. Based on a paired samples t-test, our results indicated that student use of AI technology …

Perceptions Of Undergraduate Students Of Student-Regulated Online Courses, Victor K. Wakeling Cfa Cfp Cma, Patricia R. Robertson, Micheal Patrono, Murat Doral

Faculty and Research Publications

Undergraduate students at a large, public, southeastern university enrolled in one of two independent, fully-online courses were released from the instructor-regulated structure mid-semester. Subsequently, the course was structured as student-regulated and students self-managed pace of study and timing of assessments for the remainder of the course. The objective of the research is to assess student preferences in learning structure (instructor-regulated versus student-regulated) in order to inform effective course design options in the online learning environment. At the end of each semester included in the study, a survey was administered to ascertain students’ perceptions of the student-regulated (self-paced) learning environment. After …

Crowdsourcing Cognitive Presence: A Quantitative Content Analysis Of A K12 Educator Mooc Discussion Forum, Kathryn Dawson Shields

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) offer participants opportunities to engage with content and discussion forums similar to other online courses. Pedagogical components of MOOCs and the nature of learning are worth of examining due to issues involving scale, interaction and the role of the instructor (Ross, Sinclair, Know, Bayne & McLeod, 2014). The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework provides a basis for measuring cognitive presence in online discussion forums. As voluntary point of entry to a community of learners, it is important to consider the nature of participant contributions in terms of cognitive presence. This study focused on an educator …

Interview With Joe Freidhoff: A Bird's Eye View Of K-12 Online Learning, Leslie Pourreau

Faculty and Research Publications

This article showcases an interview conducted with Dr. Joe Freidhoff, Executive Director of the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute, specifically for this special issue of the OLC Online Learning Journal. The perspectives provided by Dr. Freidhoff on the ever-changing field of K-12 online learning served two purposes: to introduce long-time profession-based journal readership to the field of K-12 online learning and to provide K-12 online learning scholars with perspective and direction for meeting the current and future needs of K-12 stakeholders.

Operating A Very Large-Section, Hybrid Principles Of Marketing Class At A Public University: Lessons Learned Over Ten Years, Bruce Robertson, Kevin Kelly

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This case study describes the development and operation of a very large-section, hybrid Principles of Marketing Class. The authors describe the original structure of the class, major adaptations and decisions related to its development over time, and discuss four lessons learned through this process: (1) The non-traditional format needs a lot of explaining, (2) This will always be an experimental class, (3) Plan in advance and have contingency plans, (4) It is easier to share the work than it is to share the budget. They conclude by suggesting Principles of Marketing is a logical entry point for innovative technology.

Student Interaction With Online Course Content: Build It And They Might Come, Meg C. Murray, Jorge Pérez, Debra B. Geist, Alison Hedrick

Faculty and Research Publications

Online learning continues to expand at educational institutions around the globe. Educators must better understand how interaction with online course content impacts student engagement and learning. Advances in technology amplify the imperative to gain further insights into how delivery of course materials can enhance and support the learning process. This study investigates student patterns of access to instructional resources provided in an asynchronous online digital literacy course offered at a regional university in the United States. Frequency counts and access rates collected from a learning management system were used to assess patterns of student retrieval of course materials in four …

From Traditional Delivery To Distance Learning: Developing The Model, Marie F. Holbein

Faculty and Research Publications

Today’s classrooms are no longer bound by geography. Distance learning has provided an attractive and increasingly highly regarded alternative to traditional face-to-face instruction. However, effective implementation requires a shift in thinking for both students and instructors. The purpose of this article is to describe a model for applying a traditional campus-based graduate course to a distance format.